All I have to say is that President Barack Obama set the standard for first dates. He showed up and showed out on his first date with Michelle, but according to Michelle it was not a first date. She was persistent to remind the audience along with Barack of it not being a date all throughout the movie.
Barack Obama was played by ( Parker Sawyers) who can be seen in the movies Snowden and Zero Dark Thirty.
Michelle Obama was played by the chocolate beauty ( Tika Sumpter) who can also be seen in the movies Ride Along 1 and 2 and in Sparkle.
For those of you who don’t know Barack is older than Michelle by 3 years and a few months. When they met Michelle was an attorney working for a law firm in Chicago and Barack was a summer associate ( intern) who was still in law school at Harvard. She was resistent to the fact that Barack was interested in her on a physical level simply because as a black woman in a predominately white male occupation she did not want to be looked at in a negative manner for getting with the first cute black man to walk through the firms door.
SOUTHSIDE with you is set in Chicago during the summer of 1989 ( it’s great to know the Obamas fell in love the year I was born) The movie moves pretty slow but that’s because it focuses on the Obama’s first date, along with a play by play of their every move. Barack saw something in Michelle that he wanted and he had no problem working hard to win her over. Black women can be a bit stubborn sometimes but that’s how we are simply because majority of the time we have to work twice as hard to be half as good. And Tika (Michelle) highlights this struggle in the movie. The date started off with the two of them viewing black art together. This scene focused on the masterpieces of Ernie Barnes who’s work was highly displayed in the tv show “Good Times”. Next they had lunch in the park, followed by the community meeting ( which actually happened later in their relationship), and finally they went to the movies to check out Spike Lee’s movie “Do the right thing” which ends with Radio Raheem being killed by police officers. His character was inspired by Michael Stewart who was killed by the police and actions such as these are still going on in American society today.
What I loved most about their first date, is the fact that it simply was BLACK. They looked at black art, Michelle danced to African drums, they watch a black movie by a black director…HELL they even finished the night off with chocolate ice cream and Barack getting himself a chocolate kiss.
Overall I applaud the movie and the director, actors, actresses and executive producers for being willing to share the Obama’s first date with us.
So the movie ends and my girls are like thats it where’s the rest of the movie. I looked at them and said, “what do you mean where’s the rest of the movie did you ladies not watch the trailer?” Apparently they did not. I guess next time I am going to have to give them a run down on what the movie is about. They just knew it was Black movie Friday and we always show up to support our community.
We always say that no one else’s relationship should be your relationship goals but hell I do not care. Im out here looking for very own Barack Obama. Black love sets my soul on fires and gives me the hope that I’m missing at times.
Please go out and support this awesome Love Story and fellas take note on what a great first date looks like. The president was and still is smooth and he’s provided y’all with the cliff notes on how to woo your own future Michelle.
Director: Richard Tanne
Screenplay: Richard Tanne
Producers: Tika Sumpter, Richard Tanne, Robert Teitel, Glendon Palmer
Executive producers: John Legend, Carrie Holt de Lama, Tracey Bing, Matt Jackson, Mike Jackson
Remember To always be
Fierce and Fabulous
xoxo Lela Victoria
